Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 104448 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 522(@200wpm)___ 418(@250wpm)___ 348(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104448 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 522(@200wpm)___ 418(@250wpm)___ 348(@300wpm)
I set the laptop aside and held out my arms. “I’m here, Lellie. Are you hungry? Do you want some apples?” Offering her a favorite might have been a dirty trick if her favorite didn’t happen to currently be a healthy choice.
Her face screwed up as she sniffed. “Ap-puh?” Then she nodded and toddled into my arms.
Dev shot me a worried look. “I don’t think I have any fresh apples. Just throwaway ones for the horses downstairs.”
“They’re in the fridge. I unpacked our cooler earlier. There’s also some leftover chicken and pasta in a plastic container. Can you microwave it a bit while I change her diaper?”
He looked a little spooked, like I was speaking another language, but he nodded and moved to the kitchen. I found the blue backpack that held her changing supplies and laid her out on a blanket on the sofa to change her. Once she was in soft pajamas and a clean diaper, I set her down and pointed to where Dev was spooning out food onto a paper plate.
“You hungry? Dev has dinner for you.”
She hesitated before toddling over toward him. “Ap-puh?”
He squatted down and handed her an apple slice. “Here’s an apple to start with.”
She kept her eyes on him while she shoved the slice into her mouth and chewed. I moved to the kitchen before rinsing out and refilling her water bottle and setting it on the kitchen table at the place I’d made for her earlier.
Lellie made her way over and let me set her in the chair.
“Clever,” Dev said, nodding to the stack of towels I’d stolen from the bathroom earlier to form a makeshift booster seat. “I guess I need to get a few things.”
He set the plate in front of her, along with a fork. I quickly grabbed the fork and replaced it with a spoon. “We don’t need her scratching your boss’s nice table,” I muttered under my breath.
I felt Dev’s eyes on me, but I ignored them. “I didn’t bring the travel crib thing. I figured we’d be staying at a hotel and they’d have one. We’ll have to make her some kind of bed tonight, and then tomorrow—”
“She can sleep with me for tonight,” he said. “I have extra pillows. I’ll make a little barricade or something to keep her from falling out.”
“You can definitely try that,” I said dubiously. “I’m afraid it’s going to be hard to get her back down after this.”
He gazed at her, as if studying her features for more clues to her heritage. I wondered if he noticed she had Katie’s dimple or her turned-up nose. I wondered if he cared.
“She’ll do fine,” he said firmly.
Famous last words.
SIX
DEV
“Careful,” Tully warned before I tripped over the curb and nearly face-planted on the sidewalk. “Curb,” he added belatedly.
“Fuck,” I muttered, glancing at Lellie in the stroller to make sure I hadn’t accidentally tipped her out.
“Language,” he said for the millionth time in the last twelve hours.
“Fuck off,” I hissed, hoping it was too low for Lellie to hear. “I didn’t get much sleep last night, in case you didn’t notice.”
“Didn’t notice,” he lied. “I slept soundly once I put the earplugs in. Thanks, by the way, for insisting that you handle everything yourself.”
I knew he was lying because I’d caught him peering at me from under dark lashes several times throughout the night as I paced back and forth with a fussy baby in my arms. Tully had stripped down to a pair of athletic shorts and an undershirt before grabbing my spare pillow and blanket and making a nest for himself on the sofa.
Thankfully, the blanket had slipped off after the first half hour, and I’d been able to distract myself from Lellie’s fussing by studying every available inch of Tully’s exposed body.
He hadn’t changed from the man in my memories. If anything, he was more tempting, more off-limits than before. Which made me feel like I was going to jump out of my skin.
“Is the Mercantile the only place around here to get kids’ stuff?” he asked as he held the door open for me. “There’s no Target or Walmart?”
I shook my head. “Nearest one’s several hours from here. I’m hoping to avoid that. Might have to order online, though.”
As soon as I entered, Natana Whiteplume appeared. “Hey, Dev,” she began with a smile before noticing the stroller. Her forehead creased in confusion. “Who’s this?”
I should have expected to get the third degree once we set foot in town, but my sleep-deprived brain wasn’t exactly running on all cylinders at the moment. “Uh…”
“Hi!” Tully said from slightly behind me. “I’m Tully Bowman. Do you work here? I’m desperate to find a travel crib.” He smiled big and nodded toward Lellie, who was busy looking around at all the various items on display.